My Response to Faete

Well, I'm sorry you had trouble commenting, but look what a lovely post it turned into! ;)

I personally love the use of caps and lowercase for Doms and subs. As both a Dominant and a submissive, it does help me get into the right "head space" as you say. I also understand how lowercasing could be assumed to indicate a lack of self-worth to the outside world. But Ziggy lowercases himself all the time and he's doing okay - He has his own comic strip!

Seriously, though, I heartily agree that, though "no slave is greater than his master," a slave or submissive is not "less" than his/her Master or Dominant. And certainly lowercasing personal pronouns is not meant to communicate that. On the contrary, I think it is quite the opposite.

When a sub caps his/her Dominant, the intent is obviously to show respect. So, it's easy for people to believe (and this may be why the practice is falling out of favor with some) that lowercasing is a show of humiliation or scorn. But I see lowercasing as a very important way to respect a submissive's position. Whenever I'm communicating with a sub (as you well know, Faete!) I am always careful to notice if they lowercase themselves. If they do, I make sure I do the same. To do otherwise, to my mind, is an insult because it fails to recognize their honoured place as a submissive.

I believe that submissives and slaves are deserving of honour just as much as Dominants, Masters and Mistresses. This is indeed a Biblical concept, in that Christ demonstrated His authority by humbling Himself. His act of sacrificing His own life was the supreme act of submission, for which God has given him "a name that is above every name." He literally took on the cultural trappings of a slave in order to wash his disciples' feet and told them that the greatest anong them must be the slave of all. So, there is an exalted place for those in submission, a respect they are due.

Paul echoes this too in his words to wives, children and slaves in Ephesians, among other things. But, that's another post altogether. Pardon me as I get ahead of myself!

I can understand aesthetic objections and that such things may not be appropriate for public use. But I am very strict about it when I am in a Dominant position and very careful about it as a submissive because I see it as an underlying show of respect. It's like a way of encoding one's words with honour for the O/other.

So, though I might differ in my use of role-specific lowercasing and caps, I agree with the principles that drive your decision not to. A tiny thing, but a demonstration of the fact that people with the same values can often come to different conclusions. This is a lesson more Christians need to learn. :)

Now, all I need are some non-gendered English perssonal pronouns so I can stop doing the he/she, his/her bit all the time. That one really annoys me!

Thanks again for your thoughtful comment, Faete. Looking forward to your future thoughts!